Key pipeline solution updates
Building on the success of Q4 2024, we’ve ended the first quarter of 2025 with ongoing success for our customers.
Quarterly achievements
- 5 leaks detected
- 9 SATs completed
- 9 FATs completed
- 15 training sessions delivered
Below is a selection of success stories from a busy quarter at Atmos, including:
- Tunnel theft in Latin America
- From pipeline fatigue to pipeline sabotage: rupture detection across the world
- Enabling pipelines in mountainous areas to have access to the best pipeline solutions
- UK rising sewer mains leak detection
Read our quarterly update below to find out more.
Tunnel theft in Latin America
Using data from our theft detection system, a Latin American pipeline company recently dismantled a 1.5 meter long tunnel and found three illegal fuel taps in an operation.
The tunnel, located before the excavation was completed, was intercepted by the company’s pipeline safety team, emphasizing the importance of early action to prevent increased risks to the pipeline.
Tunnel theft is a tactic we’re increasingly noticing in sophisticated operations, but with the right combination of hardware, software and experienced engineers analyzing the data offline, it’s possible for a theft detection system to be more advanced than the operation the thieves run.
This is evidenced in the above pipeline company’s 2024 theft detection results:
Discover what makes up an effective theft detection system
From pipeline fatigue to pipeline sabotage: rupture detection across the world
Africa
In a recent attack by a militant group, a pipeline we support in Africa was jeopardized, causing a rupture, but it was detected in a short time by Atmos Wave Flow’s leak detection system with a location accuracy of +/- 500m.
With more than 30 Atmos Wave instances and Flow engines on this customer’s pipeline, the system is well tuned and has generated minimal false alarms since the system was commissioned.
Canada
After investigating unusual responses on their Atmos Pipe leak detection system, one customer discovered a leaking rupture pin.
A flow imbalance was discovered during an after-hours call where a gradual increase in the statistical variable approaching the leak warning level was observed.
Although the flow difference change was small, our trained engineers extensively reviewed the event and helped identify that the triggering event occurred after a shut-in operation. It was discovered that the rupture pin before the outlet flow meter was leaking into a relief line. This prompted the customer to replace the pin and our software verified that the flow balance was corrected.
Latin America
For one of our Latin American customers a rupture event recently resulted in some diesel spill. The cause of the accident was pipeline fatigue due to the crushing of a slab.
Our leak detection system generated two rupture alarms that helped pipeline staff identify the incident and make decisions to minimize the contamination of local water sources.
Figure 1: The pipeline cleanup following this customer’s rupture
Atmos Rupture Detector gives operators the confidence to quickly shut down a pipeline in the event of a rupture
Enabling pipelines in mountainous areas to have access to the best pipeline leak detection solutions
We’ve recently completed a complex pipeline expansion project in North America. The project includes approximately 1,200 km of new and reactivated pipeline traversing mountainous terrain.
Pipelines on steep and varied terrain present challenges such as slack line operations caused by significant elevation change, landslides and other geohazards posing a risk to pipeline integrity. The following solutions from Atmos were deployed to overcome these challenges:
Atmos Pipe
Atmos Pipe uses the powerful Sequential Probability Ratio Test (SPRT) with pressure and flow analysis to optimize leak detection.
Atmos Batch
With Atmos Batch, a pipeline operator knows for certain the location of the head and tail of every batch in a multiproduct pipeline to swing valves with confidence at the time they arrive at their destination.
Atmos Pig
For the accurate tracking of every pig within a pipeline route in clear, visual displays with real-time updates on the position, velocity and ETAs for upcoming stations or points of interest.
UK rising sewer mains leak detection
We recently detected a new leak on a UK water pipeline that is being monitored by our hardware.
Figure 2: Data from Atmos Eclipse. The red line shows intrusive pressure data while the pink line represents the ultrasonic flow reading
The Atmos Sentinel unit installed at the pipeline inlet is used to provide live leak detection on this rising sewer main (see Figure 3).
Figure 3: The leak caused a low pressure alarm (top chart). The bottom chart also shows the data from the geophone within the Sentinel unit that is being used to derive a flow rate
These results from Atmos Eclipse and Atmos Sentinel demonstrate Atmos’ ongoing commitment to detecting leakage on clean water and wastewater pipelines.
Our solutions have been applied to over 2,000 pipelines in more than 60 countries
Atmos International was originally founded in 1995 with a primary focus to detect pipeline leaks reliably on operational pipelines. Nothing has changed except advances in our technologies which continue to grow and adapt to the changes within the oil, gas, chemical, water, aviation and mining industries.